Chicago for me (eventually)? (Evanston, Berwyn: 2013, apartments, crime)

[mistermaggie]

In the next year I want to move to a big city and start my life over. I currently live in the Quad Cities with my family. I have had an incredibly rough past two years. I was living in LA for a few years, had a mental breakdown, moved to Texas for treatment, couldn’t find a job and ended up back with my mom in the Quad Cities a few months ago.

I’m hoping in a year or so I will be in a good position to move to a bigger city to relaunch my life. I am trying to decide whether Chicago would be a good fit. Despite growing up only three hours away and going to school an hour away I have not spent a lot of time in the city. I don’t know much about it.

I want to move to a place that is LGBT (especially transgender) accepting, where someone who is visibly q ueer, can actually have a career. My current area is probably not the best place for this. Very family oriented, conservative, and blue collar here. It’s small town America. But my family is here and I enjoy being close to them, hence why I’m considering Chicago. I know it’s probably not as progressive or as scenic as coastal California but I don’t know if it would be a good idea to move 20 hours away from the only safety net I have.

[ConawayDouglas]

You might like Uptown. It has gotten more noticeably ***** over time, being relatively close to Boystown. I live here and I've seen many fit men wearing (short!) short shorts and there is a restaurant on Broadway and Leland where I've seen drag queens dancing to music amongst the diners (outside a gorgeous Spanish Baroque building). It is still a fun and exciting place, even though nightlife is only a fraction of what it would usually be in the Summer due to the pandemic ~

Uptown is one of the most diverse parts of the city, and everyone seems to get along fine in my experience, aside from the crime of course. It can be dangerous, but it's not the worst. Andersonville is nearby and it's safer and cleaner

[NoMansLands]

You're going to need to network long before you move to Chicago if you follow through and move there. You couldnt' find a job in Texas, so what will you do differently to find a job in Chicago? It's a serious question that needs answering. Chicago is not cheap at all, and anywhere near the lake on the north side is far more expensive than the suburbs, but that's where PRIDE is. If you meet people online, get into some groups that way, perhaps you can set up a roommate situation ahead time. Apartments in Boys Town and surrounding area are not cheap at all. A 300 sq ft studio can easily cost a thousand and will need a job to qualify. Riding the L and buses transit pass for a month cost $100. How are you going to afford these things? You need a plan. It can be done if you are willing to work for it.

[mistermaggie]

Originally Posted by NoMansLands

You're going to need to network long before you move to Chicago if you follow through and move there. You couldnt' find a job in Texas, so what will you do differently to find a job in Chicago? It's a serious question that needs answering. Chicago is not cheap at all, and anywhere near the lake on the north side is far more expensive than the suburbs, but that's where PRIDE is. If you meet people online, get into some groups that way, perhaps you can set up a roommate situation ahead time. Apartments in Boys Town and surrounding area are not cheap at all. A 300 sq ft studio can easily cost a thousand and will need a job to qualify. Riding the L and buses transit pass for a month cost $100. How are you going to afford these things? You need a plan. It can be done if you are willing to work for it.

I would try to find a job before I move. I am only 3 hours away and I assume most interviewing will be done over the phone and Zoom for the next month. I am not really sure what my plans are at the moment. I can’t see myself living in the Quad Cities for more than two years tops.


I just wonder if I should bother looking for work in Chicago and whether it would be a good fit for me. Looking for a place with lots of upward mobility potential, vibrant LGBT nightlife, and a solid economy in which jobs are easy to come by. I don’t care as much about cost of living, because jobs usually pay a lot more in higher cost areas. A studio in Davenport, IA would cost around $500 a month but wages are really low here and jobs are hard to come by. I think the average income of a family in Davenport with two working heads of household is like 50k a year, which says a lot. A good wage here is like minimum wage in Chicago.

I really need to work on myself before I move away, unless I can miraculously land a job somewhere else before I move. I was going through serious battles with my mental health the whole time I was in Texas and I’m still struggling.

[ConawayDouglas]

Studios are $800 to 900 in Uptown. There are traditional 2 and 3 flats as well, where you'd have roommates and thus probably cheaper rent. Who knows what job availability will be like in a year, but Hey, if we have a rough Winter to encourage proper quarantining, maybe the pandemic will be over by Spring and everyone can go out and dance again? I can't overstate how much fun I've had partying here over the years, Chicago is awesome.

Now, there's lots of Buddhist temples in and around Uptown if you're into a mindful/esoteric approach to mental health. Lots of New Age, healing, crystal, occult type shops too if you're into that. And Churches! Lots of opportunity to get involved and build a healthy, supportive network to help keep you up

Another option would be Pilsen. I lived in Pilsen (more specifically, the so-called Heart of Chicago area) from 2013 -2016 and towards the end I was mixing with a pretty substantial community of lgbtq artists. They area is more known as a major Mexican enclave, but the ***** side is definitely there, and there was a healthy mix of original Pilsen locals and newcomers from all over. It has gotten pricey but I had a lot of fun there, and I think nearby McKinley Park is much cheaper, for now. Again, they can be dangerous, but not too dangerous

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by mistermaggie

In the next year I want to move to a big city and start my life over. I currently live in the Quad Cities with my family. I have had an incredibly rough past two years. I was living in LA for a few years, had a mental breakdown, moved to Texas for treatment, couldn’t find a job and ended up back with my mom in the Quad Cities a few months ago.

I’m hoping in a year or so I will be in a good position to move to a bigger city to relaunch my life. I am trying to decide whether Chicago would be a good fit. Despite growing up only three hours away and going to school an hour away I have not spent a lot of time in the city. I don’t know much about it.

I want to move to a place that is LGBT (especially transgender) accepting, where someone who is visibly q ueer, can actually have a career. My current area is probably not the best place for this. Very family oriented, conservative, and blue collar here. It’s small town America. But my family is here and I enjoy being close to them, hence why I’m considering Chicago. I know it’s probably not as progressive or as scenic as coastal California but I don’t know if it would be a good idea to move 20 hours away from the only safety net I have.

Chicago is a great city, but get your employment and finances in order before making the move. Even before COVID-19, Chicago wasn't the healthiest job market.

[Bluefox]

I’m a gay man who has been all over the country. Chicago is second only to New York when it comes to LGBT nightlife and I really mean that.

Of course with Covid that’s all on hold. But seriously, as a trans woman you will have zero problems in Chicago.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by mistermaggie

In the next year I want to move to a big city and start my life over. I currently live in the Quad Cities with my family. I have had an incredibly rough past two years. I was living in LA for a few years, had a mental breakdown, moved to Texas for treatment, couldn’t find a job and ended up back with my mom in the Quad Cities a few months ago.

I’m hoping in a year or so I will be in a good position to move to a bigger city to relaunch my life. I am trying to decide whether Chicago would be a good fit. Despite growing up only three hours away and going to school an hour away I have not spent a lot of time in the city. I don’t know much about it.

I want to move to a place that is LGBT (especially transgender) accepting, where someone who is visibly q ueer, can actually have a career. My current area is probably not the best place for this. Very family oriented, conservative, and blue collar here. It’s small town America. But my family is here and I enjoy being close to them, hence why I’m considering Chicago. I know it’s probably not as progressive or as scenic as coastal California but I don’t know if it would be a good idea to move 20 hours away from the only safety net I have.

I can’t speak from lived experience, but my impression is that there is very little outward discrimination in Chicago.

Now whether, to your point, being transgender would limit your career prospects more than in more progressive places like San Francisco, I don’t know.

Probably.

But it could depend on your business and industry.

The tech scene here and some edgier industries it could actually probably be a boon.

The older industries that are still largely older male dominated and contingent on interacting with other older males or just more conservative segments of society in general... probably, yes.

But anything beyond that, it would not hurt you and could in some cases help you. EVERYONE is talking a good diversity game now, and many are really trying.

But I am just trying to be honest in that if the hiring manager is a 60 year old dude and the job is selling stuff to other 60 year old engineers across the Midwest, yes, I don’t believe that shell has been completely cracked. Whether it has honestly been cracked in other parts of the country, I don’t know.

I think anything in arts/culture, medicine, tech, government/public, hospitality, you’d be fine. More conservative legacy industries, sales, etc... there are still likely some challenges.

[ToriaT]

Sounds like a good bet. Probably some jobs you can find we have a very diverse economy. Some still conservative. I'm not sure what kind of job you are looking for. Andersonville, Edgewater and parts of Uptown and Lakeview are LGBT friendly. Suburbs such as Evanston too but its expensive up there. Other suburbs to look into are Berwyn, Forest Park, and Oak Park. I think gay people would be comfortable there. Majority of Aldermen in Berwyn are gay.

[tasnell76]

Originally Posted by mistermaggie

In the next year I want to move to a big city and start my life over. I currently live in the Quad Cities with my family.

I grew up in Davenport, then lived in Chicago for 8 years. I LOVE Chicago. I moved South for weather last Fall, but I definitely miss everything going on in the city.